The traditional fireball ceremony to mark the start of 2017 will be going ahead as planned.

"Open Air in the Square " has been cancelled, but that is an entirely separate event which is not organised by the Stonehaven Fireballs Association.

Crowds will be gathering in the High Street from around 10.30pm on the 31st December 2016, ready for the parade of fireballs swingers that starts on the bells at midnight to welcome in the new year.

The Stonehaven Fireballs ceremony is an open spectator event and no tickets are required. Visitors are advised to arrive early to get parked and enter the arena in case we reach maximum capacity. Although there is no entry fee, donations are most welcome to help with the annual running costs of staging this event.

We are sorry to have to announce that the Stoehaven Fireballs web cam will not be available this evening. Unfortunately there has been an equipment failure and we will not be able to stream live footage from the High Street as we have done in the past.

The Stonehaven Fireballs ceremony and the fireworks which follow immediately after it are an open spectator event and no tickets are required. Visitors are advised to arrive early to get parked and enter the arena in case we reach maximum capacity. Although there is no entry fee, donations are most welcome to help with the annual running costs of staging this event.

The Fireballs start at midnight but people start to arrive from around 10.30, with crowds really gathering from 11.00. In recent years we have reached capacity ataround 11.30 and have unfortuately had to turn people away, so please arrive in good time to avoid disappointment.

Allow extra time if you are taking a car, as parking can become a problem. There are no special parking arrangements, just park on the streets in the main town area. Normal parking restrictions apply.

It may seem like a while off yet but behind the scenes plans are well underway for the famous Hogmanay Fireballs ceremony.

The Fireballs ceremony traditionally takes place on the strike of midnight each Hogmanay, and thousands turn out to watch the procession of fireball swingers as they march down Stonehaven’s High Street.

The Fireballs Committee are kept busy all year preparing for the event, and they are always on the lookout for marshals to make it all possible, this year being no exception.

With the tightening up of health and safety we need to have all our marshals in place by the end of October. Usually this can be left until nearer the time, but we need people to come forward sooner this year.

We need 34 marshals altogether. If there are no marshals, there are no fireballs.

In order to become eligible to swing a fireball in future years, you must volunteer as a marshal first.

The Fireballs webcam , which was removed from the clock tower earlier this year during Aberdeenshire Council's extensive refurbishment work, has been now been upgraded and reinstalled. Equipment provided very kindly by SoilEssentials means we can now stream video live from the High Street at hogmanay.

In case anyone is concerned about the effect the bad weather might have on the Fireball Ceremony – IT WILL GO AHEAD – if at all possible.

In the one hundred and fifty plus years that this tradition has been going there is no record of it ever having been cancelled and that's another tradition we intend to keep to!

Sometimes it has been 'adjusted' slightly – blue flashing lights one year, incredibly fierce winds another – but it has always gone ahead.

Obviously, after the two recent floods in 2009 and 2012 when some of the area that we use for the ceremony was feet deep in water for days, we have to make contingency plans in case it happens in the run up to the 31st. Our thoughts are to have a Ceremony of some sort even if it was reduced in size. Obviously safety considerations would have to be taken into account, but none of us would like to see our continuous run broken.

The traditional starting point of the Fireball Ceremony is undergoing an extensive renovation courtesy of Aberdeenshire Council and a sizeable allocation of grants and funding. The (Old Town) Town House (to give it its proper name) had a mass of scaffolding enclosing it from top to bottom for the last few weeks. However it has all been removed and made ready for its usual purpose at Hogmanay. Historic Scotland has been overseeing the project to make sure everything is done in the appropriate manor. The architect, David Chouman, has been working with the contractors, Muirfield Construction, to make sure that all his plans are fulfilled.

The exterior has been re-pointed, some stones have been replaced, lots of woodwork has been renewed but where possible it has been repaired. The roof has had extensive work done although the majority of that woodwork was in a remarkable condition for its age. The plan for this stage is to restore the building, make it weather proof and fit for another 100 years.

The exterior lighting has been renewed. The 4 spot lights are in a temporary position at the moment. The LED balustrade lighting strip is very effective (too bright?). More exterior lighting may be added eventually.

So far, we have managed to keep the Fireball Ceremony a free event. How long this continues we don't know and can't guess. Each year the rules, regulations, Health & Safety requirements, etc., change and inevitably there are added costs. Sponsorship and support from local organisations and businesses has helped us enormously over the years but there is a limit to what we can finance. So you don't need tickets, you don't have to book a place, just turn up and enjoy!

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Each year we ask for financial support from the spectators on the night in the form of a donation. So far the response has always been amazing, generating thousands of pounds to help run the event. It also gives spectators a chance to meet some of the swingers before the event as the swingers will be shaking the buckets. It can also be an opportunity to ask about the ceremony etc.

Standing nervously in line with my briskly burning fireball on the ground behind me, waiting my turn to launch into my first ever fireball swinging, a voice behind me said: “now Roger another thing…remember to try and breathe only when the fireball is behind you!” That advice was a bit late in the day!

I have lived in Stonehaven for 36 years now and I knew, 3 years ago when I was asked if I would like to swing a fireball in the famous local Hogmanay ceremony, that I had finally been accepted as a local! I was really proud to be part of this and have now taken part three times.

The fireball swinging ceremony is pretty spectacular: 45 men and women swinging massive balls of flame around their heads as they stride the length of Stonehaven’s old High Street. The stronger ones complete 3 circuits between the clock tower at the sea end and the canon at the town end, probably about 1,200 metres in all. I can tell you that’s pretty tiring! On the night there can be between 7-10,000 spectators crowding the length of the street and the pier at the harbour; and many of these have come a long way, this year someone called to me that they had come 7,000 miles to see my fireball!. The reception given to the swingers is tremendous and the occasion is a very family oriented event, even if it does start at midnight, with a pipe band, drummers and other entertainment. And a very humorous and lively crowd of people!

The ceremony has a long history, the earliest documented evidence being from 1908, but it is likely to have been going before then. Only in the two World Wars did fireball swinging lapse and then due to blackout restrictions. It is believed to be rooted in superstitious fisher folk expunging evil spirits at the turn of the year and paving the way for a fortuitous new year to come. It is true that spirits are still much in evidence amongst the spectators!